Naveena Sunkara

“ Research published in the journal of Experimental Psychology shows that even when you think you’re doing two things at once, what you’re actually doing is switching quickly between the two tasks-you’re still focusing on one at a time. No wonder it’s so hard to listen to your partner while scrolling through Instagram…”

“ In a famous 1950s experiment, college students were asked to point out which of three lines was the same length as a fourth. When they heard others (who were in on the experiment) choose an answer that was clearly wrong, the participants followed their lead and gavr that same wrong answer…”

“Psychologists have studied a phenomenon called reactance: When people preceive certain freedoms being taken away, they not only break that rule, but they break even more than they otherwise would have in an effort to regain their freedom. This could be one of the best psychology facts to explain why a teenager who can’t use his phone in class will chew gum while stealthily sending a text…”

“ It’s not just good manners-the ‘rule of reciprocity’ suggests that we’re programmed to want to help someone who’s helped us. It probably developed because, to keep society smoothly, people need to help each other out. Stories (and some frenemies) like to use this against you, offering freebies in hopes that you’ll spend some cash…”

“Researchers who published their work in the journal Nature have found that it’s less stressful to know something negative is about to happen (eg.,there’s no chance we’ll get to a meeting on time) than when we don’t know how things will work out (eg., we might be on time after all). That’s because the part of our brain that predicts consequences whether good or bad- is most active when it doesn’t know what to expect. If stepping on the gas will hepl us beat traffic, we’ll go through that stress instead of just accepting that we’ll have to come up with a decent excuse when (not if) we’re late…”

“ Ever wonder why that sandwich frin the takeout place down the street tastes better than the ones you make at home, even if you use the same ingredients? One study published in the journal Science found that when you make yourself a meal, you’re around it so long that it feels less exciting by the tine you actually dig in-and that, subsequently, decreases your enjoyment…”

“ Our brains have something called a “negativity bias” that makes us remember bad news more than good, which is why you quickly forget that your co-workers complimented your presentation but keep dwelling on the fact that a kid at the bus stop insulted your shoes. To feel balanced, we beed at least a five to one ration of good to bad in our lives…”

” When people are asked to recall items from a list, they’re most likely to think of things from the very end, or from the very beginning, found one study published in Frontiers of Human Neuroscience. The middle gets muddled, which could also play into why you remember your boss wrapping up her presentation, not so much about the middle…”

“ In another University of Pennsylvania study, one group learned about a little girl who was straving to death, another learned about millions dying of hunger, and a third learned about both situations. People donated more than twice as much money when hearing about the little girl than when hearing the statistics- and even the group who’d heard her story in the context of the bigger tragedy donated less. Psychologists think that we’re wired to help the person in front of us, but when the problem feels too big, we figure our little part isn’t doing much…”

”…This is the illusion that a concept or object you’ve recently learned about suddenly appears everywhere. It’s also known as the “frequency illusion”…”

“ Why do you yawn when someone else does, even if you aren’t tired ? There are few theories about why yawning is contagious, but one of the leading ones is that it shows empathy. People who are less likely to show empathy- such as toddlers who haven’t learned it yet or young people with autism- are also less likely to yawn in reaction to someone else’s…”

“ Not everyone loves scary movies, but for the people who do, there are few theories as to why- the main one coming down to hormones. When you’re watching a scary movie or walking through a hunted house, you get all the adrenaline, endorphins and dopamine from a fight-or-flight response, but no natter how scared you feel, your brain recognise that you’re not really in dangerous- so you get that natural hight without the risk…”

 " Every now and then, it hurts to be prepared. In a series of experiments from the University of Pennsylvania, researchers found that when volunteers thought about a backup plan before starting a task, they did worse than those who hadn't thought about a plan B. What's more, when they realized they had options, their motivation for succeeding the first time around dropped. The researchers stress that thinking ahead is a good idea, but you might be more successful if you keep those plans vague......"

 " You change for two reasons: Either you learn enough that you want to, or you've been hurt that you have to. "

“…Old Keys won’t open new doors…”